Writing for STAT, Anna Spier, a senior policy associate for J-PAL, emphasizes the importance of relying on scientific evidence when policymakers determine which opioid addiction programs to fund. “As governments and philanthropists collaborate to learn what’s working to fight opioid addiction, establishing an infrastructure to share knowledge across local, state, and federal agencies will accelerate their collective work.”
Times Higher Education reporter Nicola Ingram examines Prof. Peter Temin’s latest book, which examines the state of the U.S. economic system. Temin, “provides an engaging commentary on the complexities of policy developments and their impact on workers’ conditions, as well as the problematic voting behaviour that seals their fate.”
Writing for The New York Times, Prof. Christopher Warshaw discusses his research, which shows there is not one state where the majority of residents support the American Health Care Act. “Across all the states that voted for President Trump last year, we estimate that support for the A.H.C.A. is rarely over 35 percent."
In an article for The New York Times, Prof. Jonathan Gruber writes that proposed cuts to Medicaid will impact a large number of Americans, as the program provides financial resources for elderly and disabled adults. “Nearly two-thirds of [Medicaid] spending is focused on older and disabled adults — primarily through spending on long-term care services such as nursing homes.”
Research Scientist Ashley Nunes speaks to Marco Werman of PRI’s The World about the proposed privatization of air-traffic control in the U.S., and how countries like Canada have successfully transitioned to a private system. When airlines pay less for air-traffic control services, “the price that the airline passes along to the passenger is also lower,” explains Nunes.
In an article for The Atlantic, Ashley Nunes, a research scientist with MIT’s Center for Transportation and Logistics, examines a proposal to privatize the air-traffic control system in the U.S. Nunes explains that, “reforming how air-traffic services are delivered is worthwhile—but not without costs, and those costs are important to understand and address.”
Financial Times reporter Martin Sandbu highlights how MIT researchers have quantified the contribution U.S. states can make to the Paris climate agreement. The researchers found that climate change policy, “reduces the risk for private sector investments in green energy-related sectors that are well on their way to becoming lucrative growth industries.”
A study co-authored by MIT researchers shows how efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions coupled with policies aimed at improving air quality could help tackle China’s air pollution problems, reports Melissa Lott for Scientific American. The researchers found that “the combination of both vehicle emission standards and an economy-wide carbon price… could pack a strong ‘one-two punch’.”
In an article for The Hill, Prof. Valerie Karplus highlights the economic risks of ignoring the emerging market for clean energy. Karplus writes that, “abandoning the fight against climate change…will take away U.S. jobs.”
Prof. Eric Lander, founding director of the Broad Institute, writes for The Washington Post about the importance of federal funding for scientific research, noting that scientific advances help drive the American economy. “When scientific breakthroughs spawn new industries and jobs, those benefits occur right here in the United States,” Lander explains.
In an article for The Atlantic, Gillian B. White writes about Prof. Peter Temin’s new book, “The Vanishing Middle Class: Prejudice and Power in a Dual Economy.” White writes that in his book Temin argues that “following decades of growing inequality, America is now left with what is more or less a two-class system.”
Politico Pro reporter Alex Guillén writes that David Goldston, director of government affairs for the National Resources Defense Council, has been selected to lead MIT’s Washington Office.
President L. Rafael Reif speaks with Washington Post reporter Joel Achenbach about the potential impact of proposed budget cuts to federally-funded scientific research. Achenbach writes that Reif notes, “America’s leadership in science is at stake.”
Prof. M. Taylor Fravel speaks with Guardian reporter Tom Phillips about how the U.S. decision to conduct missile strikes in Syria during a visit by China’s president could impact relations between the two countries. “China will be upset that strikes occurred in the middle of Xi’s first meeting with Trump,” Fravel explains.
Senior Lecturer Robert Pozen writes for Fortune about how the Trump administration could reform corporate tax code. Pozen writes that “to be competitive with most industrialized countries, the US needs a corporate tax rate in the range of 20% to 25% — with a US tax credit for corporate taxes paid to a foreign country.”